Thursday, December 31, 2015

Late last year, just before heading off to SHOT Show 2015, AT&T Outdoors contacted us and asked if we'd be interested in testing one of Goal Zero's latest portable lighting gadgets called the "Torch 250," which AT&T sells in their online store.

The Torch 250 is a portable Flashlight and Backup Battery that can be charged via solar power, a built-in hand crank, or a USB cord connected to a computer or wall charger.

I have used other Goal Zero products in the past with good success (a Goal Zero Guide 10 Plus Solar Kit has kept batteries for the RMB Iphone, camera and weather instruments charged in the field for several years now). The description sounded interesting (what can I say, I'm a sucker for anything solar powered!). So I told them sure, send it on over! Since I'm out in the boonies most of the time, I figured it might come in handy.

On my way back from SHOT Show in Las Vegas, I made a pitstop near Salt Lake City, Utah to see some friends. After my visit, I decided to camp out in the mountains nearby for a couple of days to get some fresh air. I thought it would be a great time to test the Torch 250.

The Torch provided more than enough light in both flood and spotlight mode for most tasks. I found the runtime to be very close to the manufacturer's specs as well.

As for charging, using the hand crank was slow and tedious, but it was nice to have this option in case of a dire emergency.

Solar charging the Torch was definitely easier and more efficient than using the hand crank (Goal Zero says it takes 24 hours of direct sun to fully charge the Torch via its tiny solar panel). During the shorter days of Fall and Winter, expect this charge time to be extended by as much as a full day.

One option to speed up the solar charging process is to pair the Torch with a portable Goal Zero solar panel like the Nomad 7. This will cut the charge time roughly in half.

Charging the Torch via the USB cord is obviously the easiest and quickest route for non-emergency use, along with using the solar panel to keep the battery topped off for longer trips.

As a Backup Battery, the Torch came in handy for keeping my Iphone 5 charged while out in the backcountry. Over the course of several tests, I found that I could get 5-6 full Iphone charges before needing a recharge.

The Torch was also handy for keeping my AT&T Velocity mobile wi-fi hotspot charged while I was away from the power grid.

I should note that the Torch includes a red spotlight/strobelight for preserving night vision as well as for emergency signaling.

When I got back home to Colorado after my stop in Utah, a wet snowstorm downed power lines all around my area, so the electricity was out for a couple of days. This is where the Torch really shined. It provided enough light on the floodlight setting to illuminate an entire room.

Conclusion

My initial impression of this device was that it was a bit too large and clunky to be useful. After spending the past year with it, I find myself taking it with me everywhere I go. At 14.4 oz, it's not something I would take for ultralight backpacking, but for camping, hiking, or for home and vehicle emergency preparedness, I think it's a great tool.

Jason Schwartz is the founder and senior editor of Rocky Mountain Bushcraft. He is a former Red Cross certified Wilderness & Remote First Aid Instructor, and has taught bushcraft and wilderness survival techniques to the Boy Scouts of America, interned with the US Forest Service, and studied wilderness survival, forestry and wildland firefighting at Colorado Mountain College in Leadville, Colorado. Jason has also written for magazines such as The New Pioneer and Backpacker, including writing the "Tinder Finder" portion of Backpacker's "Complete Guide to Fire," which won a 2015 National Magazine Award (NMA). Email him at rockymountainbushcraft @ hotmail.com (without spaces)

Hey friends, it is with great sadness that I share this with you. Dan Haggerty, star of the beloved TV show "Grizzly Adams," has been diagnosed with cancer. Apparently, he was having back issues in July and August. After a visit to the doctor, cancer was found in his spine.

Dan was last heard from on Sept 28th, when he said he was optimistic about his fight and said that he was getting bored with all the medical treatments he was going through. Nothing has been posted since. I'm hoping he is still winning his battle.

As some of you recall, I got to meet Dan at SHOT Show 2014. I have met many celebrities over the years, but Dan was definitely the warmest and most humble, with a great sense of humor to boot. A true gentlemen in every respect.

For anyone wanting to help Dan and his family with his rising medical costs, here is a link to his GiveForward.com page if you'd like to donate.

Leah and I send our thoughts and prayers to Dan and his family, and hope he beats this illness soon.

Regards,

Jason

About the author

Jason Schwartz is the founder and senior editor of Rocky Mountain Bushcraft. He is a former Red Cross certified Wilderness & Remote First Aid Instructor, and has taught bushcraft and wilderness survival techniques to the Boy Scouts of America, interned with the US Forest Service, and studied wilderness survival, forestry and wildland firefighting at Colorado Mountain College in Leadville, Colorado. Jason has also written for magazines such as The New Pioneer and Backpacker, including writing the "Tinder Finder" portion of Backpacker's "Complete Guide to Fire," which won a 2015 National Magazine Award (NMA). Email him at rockymountainbushcraft @ hotmail.com (without spaces)

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Many bushcrafters assume that the only way to make charcloth (also known as "char-tinder") is to carry materials such as linen, cotton or jute -- not true! There are in fact a wide variety of natural materials that can be used to make effective char-tinder.

In my experience, dry-rotted wood (also known as "punkwood"), the dead inner bark of juniper, willow, aspen, cottonwood, poplar, cedar, oak, pine, big sage, maple and basswood trees, thistle or cattail down, pith from mullein stalks, old bees or wasp's nests, or pieces of amadou from a horsehoof fungus (typically found on Birch trees) all make good char-tinder.

BELOW: The inner bark from a Juniper Tree was charred to make an excellent tinder that easily ignited with the spark from a carbon Mora knife and a piece of Chert:

Juniper char-tinder nested in a tinder bundle of Juniper bark and dry grasses, ready to take a spark:

Dead inner bark of Aspen, great for char-tinder or for tinder bundles:

Dead inner bark of Mountain Willow:

Punkwood is one of the best materials, and can be harvested nearly anywhere in the world from nearly any type of tree. You will know punkwood by the way it feels-- super light and spongy, similar to styrofoam.

Below: A good candidate to find punkwood -- an old rotten log laying on the ground near a mountain stream:

Punkwood found in the dead branch of a Rocky Mountain Gambel Oak. This punkwood made excellent char-tinder:

To turn these natural materials into char-tinder, place the materials inside a closed, vented metal container or old glass bottle (uncapped) and burn them over a fire until they stop smoking. You can also turn them into char-tinder by igniting them and snuffing them out in between a couple of pieces of dead tree bark, burying them under hot coals/ashes until they char, or snuffing them out them inside an Altoids-style container. Due to the delicate nature of these type of charred materials, it is best to use the drop-spark method with your flint & steel to ignite them.

Cheers,

Jason

About the author

Jason Schwartz is the founder and senior editor of Rocky Mountain Bushcraft. He is a former Red Cross certified Wilderness & Remote First Aid Instructor, and has taught bushcraft and wilderness survival techniques to the Boy Scouts of America, interned with the US Forest Service, and studied wilderness survival, forestry and wildland firefighting at Colorado Mountain College in Leadville, Colorado. Jason has also written for magazines such as The New Pioneer and Backpacker, including writing the "Tinder Finder" portion of Backpacker's "Complete Guide to Fire," which won a 2015 National Magazine Award (NMA). Email him at rockymountainbushcraft @ hotmail.com (without spaces)

Monday, December 14, 2015

When prepping a new axe for use out in the bush, one area that's often overlooked is the top of the haft that sticks out of the eye of the axe head.

The sharp edge of the wood, as it comes from the factory, is prone to splintering, and can lead to a damaged axe handle if not addressed before taking the axe out in the field. To fix this issue, simply sand the sharp edges with a fine piece of sandpaper, or a Dremel tool with a sanding drum, to make it smooth.

The result will be a more durable, splinter resistant axe handle. After you're done, make sure to apply two coats of linseed oil.

Cheers,

Jason

About the author

Jason Schwartz is the founder and senior editor of Rocky Mountain Bushcraft. He is a former Red Cross certified Wilderness & Remote First Aid Instructor, and has taught bushcraft and wilderness survival techniques to the Boy Scouts of America, interned with the US Forest Service, and studied wilderness survival, forestry and wildland firefighting at Colorado Mountain College in Leadville, Colorado. Jason has also written for magazines such as The New Pioneer and Backpacker, including writing the "Tinder Finder" portion of Backpacker's "Complete Guide to Fire," which won a 2015 National Magazine Award (NMA). Email him at rockymountainbushcraft @ hotmail.com (without spaces)

Friday, December 11, 2015

In a bid to stem a massive fall in profits this year ($335 million dollars according to the Washington Post), the Weather Channel decided to dump any non-weather related reality shows and return to a purely weather-related format.

This is unfortunate, because as I've said before, I think "Fat Guys" was one of the better survival shows that didn't go overboard with producer-induced drama and fake scenarios.

Regards,

Jason

About the author

Jason Schwartz is the founder and senior editor of Rocky Mountain Bushcraft. He is a former Red Cross certified Wilderness & Remote First Aid Instructor, and has taught bushcraft and wilderness survival techniques to the Boy Scouts of America, interned with the US Forest Service, and studied wilderness survival, forestry and wildland firefighting at Colorado Mountain College in Leadville, Colorado. Jason has also written for magazines such as The New Pioneer and Backpacker, including writing the "Tinder Finder" portion of Backpacker's "Complete Guide to Fire," which won a 2015 National Magazine Award (NMA). Email him at rockymountainbushcraft @ hotmail.com (without spaces)

Saturday, December 5, 2015

Hope you all are well! Just an FYI that I have finally finished the major project I have been working on over the past 8 months, and there will be major updates coming soon, as well as bunch of new material (finally!).

Just a reminder-- if you enjoy the content here, please show us your support by stopping by and hitting the "Like" button on the Rocky Mountain Bushcraft Facebook page --we would really appreciate it- thanks!